


Carry On, Albatross

by Hadrian_Pendragons



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Family Feels, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Luffy & Usopp centric, More Tags Later?, Multi, Nakamaship, Past Character Death, Spoilers, Worldbuilding, because y'know the future wasn't pretty, canon has no power here, no explicit romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-16 05:07:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28825698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hadrian_Pendragons/pseuds/Hadrian_Pendragons
Summary: They decided to go back to the beginning of the end.Luffy and Usopp jump at the chance to get back what was taken from them. The Pirate King sails the seas once more and brings to his crew an omen of good luck.The world should have remembered that harm to an albatross was met with nothing but misfortune.
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy & Mugiwara Kaizoku | Strawhat Pirates, Monkey D. Luffy & Usopp, Mugiwara Kaizoku | Strawhat Pirates & Usopp
Comments: 18
Kudos: 47





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Been sitting on this one for a while, haha. Back to my favorite fandom with one of my favorite tropes and two of my favorite characters! You all better enjoy it. *shakes fist in tired writer*

They decided to go back to the beginning of the end.

Usopp tossed out the idea of going home and hiding. For one thing, he wasn’t Nami. He couldn’t navigate them out of the New World and outrun the marines at the same time. If they were seen, that would be it for them. Luffy hadn’t even entertained the thought of leaving, uncharacteristically reasoning that it would only bring their enemies down on what remained of their precious people, and their precious people’s precious people.

The same line of thought made many other options unreachable. They refused to drag what remained of Whitebeard’s crew into this, just as they would not allow Marine foot to tread upon the sacred ground Luffy’s brother rested. Wano, Fishman Island, even Alabasta were out of reach… It was strange to see Luffy pause for so long and consider the consequences, but at the same time Usopp understood. Wherever they went, the Marines would follow, and putting the rest of their nakama in danger was never going to stand.

Not when the enemy was a man of magma hellbent on reshaping the world.

Usopp only had one safe idea.

A secret place, where they could hide and recover, disappear and protect their allies by staying out of sight.

_ “We’ll go there.” _

Luffy read his mind.

The Mini Merry wasn’t too hard to navigate with just the two of them. The ocean was still harsh, and the tri-pose and basic navigation Nami had drilled into him were a boon. He relied heavily on what she and Jinbei had taught him about keeping their heading and reading the waters to such a dangerous destination. The Mini Merry held together valiantly, her battle scars hardly a hindrance as she carried them with her nostalgic strength. Franky had patched her up finely and Usopp did his best to maintain the repairs, but he could tell that this was as much her last voyage as it was theirs.

Luffy didn’t speak much. He didn’t smile. The winds were quiet and somber, the boundless energy of his captain drained and subdued.

Usopp could imagine the deck of the Sunny. Sanji, arriving with a treat and an insult for any of the men too greedy. Zoro’s quick quip would cause a quick squabble that Chopper and Brook would halt with a song and a scolding. Nami would be laughing, Robin wouldbe flipping a page in her book, and Luffy would be eating the snacks in the distraction.

Luffy instead watched the ocean from the Mini Merry’s bow, still as stone and quiet as a ghost. Usopp had to search out his presence constantly, to remind himself that Luffy was with him and smack his captain’s hand away from the bandages keeping him alive. Chopper’s emergency supplies had been practically drained. Usopp was for once glad he’d been healed by the doctor enough times to use them properly.

The longer they drifted, the more the deck felt wrong. They barely slept, sailed through the nights, and kept their senses open for any sign of the government. From time to time, Luffy would nod off against his shoulder, and Usopp would glimpse the burden that pulled at his captain’s shoulders. He wished he had a way to lighten it. Neither of them slept for long.

The seas were calm near Raftel.

Their first visit had nearly drowned them in a raging storm. The ocean had churned along a dangerous course, as if trying to spit them back out from what it protected. For hours of slick-decked chaos and Nami’s booming voice going hoarse, the entire crew had pulled their weight and then some to break through the wall of the typhoon and allow them refuge inside.

Now, kilometers offshore, Usopp could clearly spot the overflowing flora and red-sanded beaches of the last island, welcoming them back.

Luffy’s gaze, then and now, didn’t waver.

Raftel was a summer island. It looked as if it could market itself as a prime resort location, if one polished off the mega-fauna and added in a port. Their first journey here had given them a treasure trove. Beneath the surface, hidden in a cave system only Nami, Robin, and Zoro’s insane luck had figured out, was a sunken city. Everyone’s awe had melted into irrational excitement when they stumbled upon no less than the Oro Jackson himself–filled with a giant vault of precious metals and Eternal Poses to islands and Poneglyphs alike, and in the captain’s quarters was a ship’s log, written by the first pirate king.

Luffy’s expression of awe and joy and excitement had not faded after. Not until recently.

The poses were long shattered in battle. The log burned with the Thousand Sunny. Gold sunk to the bottom of the sea.

Stumbling through the caves once more was like visiting a mausoleum.

Luffy led the way. He stumbled and swayed but pushed ahead no matter how many times Usopp tried to carry him. His captain only spoke to deny his help, but his eyes were somewhere else, locked on a distant destination that muted everything around him.

Usopp knew what the destination was.

If one made it to the end of the caves, they would find themselves exiting a grand arch and looking upon a hill. Above would stand a monolith, a spire stretching high into the sky, inscribed with ancient text only Robin had been able to interpret.

_ “May weary rest upon our shores.” _

Luffy swayed.

“Luffy?”

_ “Grand our city is no more.” _

Usopp couldn’t see his captain’s face, positioned behind him as he was in case he had to act quickly. He knew the physical wounds were nothing compared to the turmoil stirring inside… but he would take care of his captain while Luffy took care of his demons.

_ “Here lay all we once amassed.” _

Luffy’s knees buckled. Usopp caught him under the arms and lowered them both to the ground.

“Hey, Luffy, are you okay?” Dumb question. “Can you hear me?”

_ “Our journey at an end at last. Signed—” _

“The World.”

Luffy’s chest shuddered in an emotion Usopp couldn’t place.

In their first journey here, Robin had read the inscription, but Luffy had been the one to name the strange landmark before she could finish.

Luffy had laughed.

_ “We’re gonna sail the world again!” _

Another celebration had broken out. The Straw Hats had been ready to take on anything as the crew of the Pirate King.

“‘m tired, Usopp…”

Usopp’s limbs stopped moving. His brain registered the words—the first admission of pain Luffy had given him since they had escaped together.

He took a deep breath.

“I’ll set up camp, ‘kay? Try and sleep.”

“‘Kay…”

Usopp settled him down at the base of the hill and ran back to the ship as fast as his legs could carry him. Their supplies were all aboard, but he could carry what they needed. The sooner he was back, the sooner he could help Luffy lie down properly.

When he reached the Mini Merry, a raging typhoon raged offshore, though not a drop of rain touched the island itself.

Usopp nodded at the sea, gathered what they needed, and rushed back to his captain.

How long they would be here, he didn’t know, but no one would be able to follow. He had learned enough not to question the protection of the sea.


	2. Chapter 2

_ “Damnit!” _

_ Usopp flinched. _

_ Luffy slumped to the ground beside the dent his fist had formed in the cave wall. The Mini Merry was hidden in the cavern for the time being. The island was uninhabited enough they could head to shore and find supplies before they cast off for good. _

_ Usopp had argued with him. Told Luffy to stay put, that he still couldn’t move his arms properly, that Usopp would be just fine on his own. _

_ “I told you not to come!” Usopp scolded, crouching beside Luffy. His captain’s eyes were filled with frustration, anger, exhaustion—Usopp felt the same, but he wasn’t the one that could barely walk. _

_ “I said we go together.” _

_ “It’d be better if I just—” _

_ “I won’t let you go alone!” Luffy growled. It was that voice—the one that meant Luffy was the captain, and he made the decisions. _

_ Usopp wished Luffy wouldn’t look at him like that. As if there was only one lifeline for him in the world, and Usopp held the other end. _

_ “...you’re right.” Usopp slipped his arm under Luffy’s shoulders and helped him up. “Sorry, Captain.” _

_ They walked in silence.  _

_ “You’re still here… so I’m not giving up yet… alright?” Luffy whispered. _

_ Usopp held back his tears. “I’ve got your back, Captain. Always.” _

_ The smile Luffy gave him was that of a dying sun, struggling to shine. _

* * *

Usopp’s eyes didn’t leave his captain as his pencil cut dark lines across his paper.

The journal wasn’t new. He had carried these wrinkled, yellowed pages on his person since the beginning of his journey and like a lucky charm, it had survived every adventure he had brought it with him. Originally, he had used it to record stories to tell Kaya when he eventually visited home. Then, as the crew became more and more important to him, it started to contain his designs, compositions of his ammunition, thoughts… there were even a few scribbled out pages from that time in Water 7. Sketches of his crewmates had followed, and become a way to keep his hands busy and mind clear. 

It was what he needed after a sleepless night of denial and hazy nightmares. He had woken to Luffy shaking his shoulder, and hadn’t slept since—so now he sat with pencil in hand, watching Luffy study the spire with a far-away intensity. It was a moment in which their unseen wounds were quiet instead of festering. Where Usopp could pretend they had a direction and not think too far into the future. 

His captain sat cross-legged at the top of the hill, hands resting in his lap, shoulders lax in concentration. Luffy’s bandages were lighter now, the wounds beginning to heal. Black feathery hair fluttered in the wind, and Usopp’s hand paused. 

After a moment’s thought, he added the straw hat to Luffy’s head. He’d drawn it enough times, and… there was just something off without it present. 

He didn’t know where Luffy had lost it. He had never asked. 

From time to time, his captain would tilt his head as if alerted to a sound deep within the island, but he would never act on the noise, simply sit there and stare at the spire—maybe he was listening to it, and not the nature on the island? What a big piece of ancient stonework could possibly have to say, Usopp didn’t know. He had seen stranger things, though. 

A bird cawed, startlingly close to their camp, and startled Usopp out of his concentration. He dropped his pencil, and Kabuto was in hand with a shot ready to take on whatever had snuck up on him, his aura spiking—

And a flutter of feathers leapt into the sky above the trees to get away from him. 

Usopp slowly unwound and shook the nervousness of battle out of his mind. A bird—it was only a bird. Usopp would have called himself a wimp if acting fast hadn’t saved his and Luffy’s lives up until now.

Maybe he was still a coward, but—no, he wouldn’t think about that today.

He stowed away his pencil and journal and climbed the hill until he could sit by Luffy’s side. His captain gave no indication he’d noticed Usopp’s moment of panic, but Usopp knew better—Luffy may not have Usopp’s observation, but he was in-tune with anything involving his nakama.

“Hey, Luffy,” Usopp said. “You’re not gonna let me start dinner without you, are ya?”

Luffy closed his eyes and shook his head, “Gimme a second.”

Luffy  _ not  _ leaping to his feet and dashing for the fire pit had been about as strange as his lack of energy as of late, but not unexpected. Usopp sometimes had to remind Luffy of his own ravenous appetite.

It wasn’t pleasant to think about how food had dropped more than a few rungs in Luffy’s priority list.

Nonetheless, Usopp remained quiet. Luffy’s aura was particularly tense and focused today. The moments dragged on, the sun climbing further down the horizon, and just when Usopp began to debate the best way of waking Luffy up from his trance—

“Usopp!”

Luffy tackled him in a hug, and the air itself shifted. The heavy, oppressive sorrow that clung to his captain’s shoulders evaporated and left familiar hope behind.

Luffy’s shoulders shook. Usopp wrapped his arms around him.

“Yeah, Captain?”

“I found them!” Luffy cheered, voice wavering in joy. “I found them—I found them!” He pulled away, hands on Usopp’s shoulders and staring with wide, watery eyes. “Usopp, I know what we’ve gotta do.”

Maybe it was the breathtaking excitement in Luffy’s unstable aura, or maybe it was Usopp’s own desperation ready to cling onto whatever his captain had found, but he didn’t think to question what Luffy was rambling about before he asked, “Where do we go?”

“Back!” Luffy grinned, lighter than he had been in ages. “We’re going back!”

* * *

If the explanation had been spoken by anyone besides Monkey D. Luffy, Usopp would have been inclined to slowly inch away from the crazy person talking to him.

He was skeptical by nature—that was simply a facet of his personality he could never be rid of, but Usopp liked to think he adapted fairly well. He had grown more accustomed to keeping an open mind during his time in the grand line, and even more prepared to expect the unexpected during his time on the Straw Hat crew. Outrageous things happened, and he wouldn’t have survived without accepting that. 

And since it  _ was  _ Monkey D. Luffy speaking to him and they  _ were  _ at the place of miracles… Usopp pulled out the file in his mind titled “Not To Be Questioned” and tossed “Time Travel” at the top of the list.

“Wait, wait, wait… you’re saying this thing can let you see…  _ everything?” _

Luffy nodded vigorously, then paused and tilted his head, “Well, if you use Haki, yeah. Though I’ve been using my Will and Observation…” He looked worried, as if Usopp not having the Conqueror's Will might keep Usopp from following him. 

“Well, I’ve got the best Observation around, you know that! Lemme have a crack at this thing.” Usopp assured him.

A noise like an angry beast’s growl filled the clearing.

“... after we eat.”

“Food!” Luffy cheered and hopped to his feet, arms in the air like the journey down the hill was a ride. 

Usopp covered his eyes from the dust cloud Luffy kicked up. When he opened them, it was like the sun had started to shine brighter than moments before. 

“C’mon, Usopp! Can’t practice on an empty stomach!”

“I’m comin’! Don’t eat everything without me!”

“Shishishishi~!”

The laugh was like a balm to Usopp’s aching soul. 

When the food was gone and the moon had risen, they settled before the pillar.

“So it’s kinda like…” Luffy’s face scrunched up in thought, “... it’s like you’re on a boat.”

“A boat.” Usopp nodded.

“Yeah, a boat.” Luffy hummed. “You have to get on the boat and… make it sail backwards?”

“Sail the boat… backwards…”

Luffy scratched the back of his head. “That’s what I did! Though it did take me a while to figure it out. You kinda gotta just… let it happen.”

So, intuitively and… just trust where you’re going. Not the easiest aspects for Usopp to emulate. “What’s it like in there?” Usopp gestured to the spire.

“Really,  _ really  _ big!” Luffy spread his arms wide to exaggerate. “And there’s a lot going on! You’ll only see the present at first, but once you figure out how to sail backwards, you should be able to feel them.”

He could see his nakama again. He and Luffy could get them back. That was everything he could ever want.

“Okay,” Usopp braced himself and faced the spire. It’s peak loomed in front of the moon. “Anything else I need to know?”

“Um…” Luffy’s face began to redden as he thought his hardest.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll find out soon, anyway.”

Luffy placed a hand on his shoulder. “You can do it, Usopp.” Luffy was still worried.

“Of course I can, who do you take me for?”

Luffy fidgeted in place, and Usopp closed his eyes. It was time to give this a shot.

Most of the island lay before him, a mish-mash of animal auras muddled by plant life. In the distance, the oceans lapped at the shore. Luffy’s presence stood like a warm beacon beside him.

The spire didn’t feel any different than it had, sitting on the edge of his senses. His first reaction to it had been that it was just a rock, and he hadn’t had more reason to look closer… but now that he had every reason to concentrate, he found something strange.

Usopp narrowed his observation haki toward the spire. He narrowed his perception, and pushed against it…

… and was stopped.

Something stood in his way, keeping him from looking closer. He prodded it, and found that a barrier enveloped the entire piece of stone, stretching deep into the ground. It rolled underneath him, but did not give way. 

Luffy hadn’t mentioned a barrier. Which was probably where his captain’s conqueror’s haki came into play—Usopp had seen stronger wills and barriers fall to his captain’s will. Usopp would have to find another way around it.

He took his time checking every inch of the thing. From as far down as he could sense to every inch he could reach above the earth. It wasn’t until he reached the very top that an idea occurred to him.

The top of the barrier was pointed, just like the spire itself. Sharp and thin. If he could just apply enough force, it might be enough—

Usopp gathered all of his will and struck.

All thoughts were forced from his mind. Overwhelming information poured into him, indecipherable, chaotic, a haze of noise and aura pushing and rolling and parting. It was—he felt the entire  _ world  _ underneath him, veins stretching to every ocean and sea and island, every piece of the planet vying for his attention. It flowed and whirled and connected everywhere and everyone at once and… and…

“Usopp!”

His senses slammed back into the confines of his body, everything shockingly quiet. Usopp turned to the side and heaved up his dinner.

“Are you okay!? What happened?” Luffy rubbed his back, doing his best to be soothing when Usopp felt so raw. Usopp coughed and wiped his mouth, falling back into Luffy’s lap and steadying his breath.

“‘M fine, Luf.” Usopp shivered and tentatively reached his observation out again, but the barrier was back where it had been. “Do you… have you been… How do you sort through all of that?”

Usopp opened his eyes. Luffy stared down at him with a creased brow, that worried frown back on his face.

“I dunno, it just… sorts itself out. I try not to pay attention to what I’m not looking for.” Luffy shrugged and rubbed Usopp’s arm. “You’re… sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, Luffy.” Usopp took another deep breath. “Don’t worry ‘bout me. I’ll have this figured out in no time.”

Luffy looked like he wanted to say something. Usopp couldn’t help but speculate. Maybe Luffy thought he couldn’t do this. Maybe he thought Usopp was too weak to handle the weight of the literal world, or maybe he was scared that he would have to leave Usopp behind and go back alone—

“Okay. I trust you, Usopp.”

—but did he have to say things like that and break all of those thoughts into little tiny pieces?

“‘Course!” Usopp smiled. “I’ll always have your back. We’re going together.”

Luffy’s return smile was wider than any Usopp had seen in months. “That’s right!”

Usopp sat up with Luffy’s help and studied the spire again. This was the only thing keeping him and Luffy away from their nakama. He still didn’t fully understand it, or what made Luffy so sure it would work the way they wanted, but for once in his hectic life he couldn’t bring himself to care about what-ifs.

Luffy trusted him. More than anything in the world, Usopp wanted Luffy to be able to keep trusting him.

But, as the days dragged on, Usopp had to admit that figuring out the right way to approach the essence of the entire world was easier said than done.

He drummed his fingers on his knee and glared at the spire, the barrier just beneath his senses. The moon was once again high, slowly waning. He could hear Luffy’s sores echoing up the hill and was glad that his captain was getting some sleep for once. The same couldn’t be said for himself. Riled as he was by his slow progress, his sleep had ended up fitful and nightmare-filled and drove him up the hill almost every night.

He had to navigate the spire without overloading his brain. He had to navigate it.

_ Visualize. _

Luffy had talked about a boat. Usopp needed a vessel strong enough to handle sailing the entire world—which was such a familiar need that only one sprung to mind.

The problem was that his last image of the Thousand Sunny was a smoking hull, burning mast, and charred smiling figurehead.

The Sunny was still precious in his mind, but it was no longer the powerful home that sailed them to the ends of the world. Any other ship he tried, even the Oro Jackson, shattered upon trying to break the tip of the spire.

A ship… a boat…

There was only one other vessel he hadn’t tried.

The Mini Merry was beat up, but sailable. Strong, just like her predecessor. He hadn’t used her before, thinking that bigger would be better, but he had nothing to lose and everything to gain.

_ Luffy’s counting on you. _

The Mini Merry’s image formed beneath his feet. Sturdy, still sailing strong despite it’s pain. If he were honest with himself, it was only fitting that she be the one to take him back.

Usopp spent as long as possible recreating every plank in his mind, unfurling the sails, the Straw Hat flag still flying proud. He was alone at the helm, but he could almost feel her standing beside him.

This would work. He knew it before he even descended upon the spire.

The tip of the spire broke, the Mini Merry’s sails filled with the winds, and Usopp finally set sail upon the waves of the world with clarity and a destination in mind.

He came out of his meditation giddy, the sun rising over the horizon, and leapt into the air with a cry of happiness.

“Usopp…?” Luffy muttered blearily, dragging his feet up the hill. “What ‘appened?”

“I did it Luffy! I got in! I mean, I’ve still gotta figure out where their auras are and how to get back to the past in the first place, but I did it and I didn’t throw up—!”

Luffy’s eyes widened slowly as Usopp spoke. Before he could continue rambling, Usopp found himself wrapped up several times over in Luffy’s extendable arms, his captain’s face buried in his shoulder.

“... Luffy?”

Luffy lifted his head and met his eyes with no tears, but a laugh that sounded like a breath of fresh air. “You did it, Usopp! You did it!”

“Yeah, I did it!”

“Shishishi~!”

Luffy laughed and laughed and laughed, and Usopp could do nothing but laugh with him. The fear and anxiety had no more reason to stay. Usopp and Luffy would be going back together, and nothing was going to stand in their way.

The day passed with Luffy guiding him along the currents until they found the edge of the present and leapt the rocky seas into the past. His first glimpse of familiar auras left him breathless and excited. This was real. It was real—they were going back, and their nakama would be back by their sides where they belonged.


End file.
